Raul Ugarte1
1Acadian Seaplants Ltd, 30 Brown Ave, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, B3B 1X8, Canada
Until 1995, the harvest of Ascophyllum nodosum in Canada only took place within the province of Nova Scotia and under a “laissez faire” management. However, due to an increased demand for products derived from this seaweed, and an increased competition for this resource, the industry showed an interest to harvest, for the first time, the abundant and pristine resource found in the neighboring province of New Brunswick (NB). This interest coincided with the recent collapse of the ground fishery in Atlantic Canada in the early 90’s. This led the country to change its fisheries management from a single-species sustainability to an ecosystem approach. A. nodosum had long been recognized as both a resource and a habitat, consequently, the expansion of the harvest to NB created concern among local stakeholders, government, and scientists. Thus, before the harvest could expand to NB, a new ecosystem-based management strategy that integrated its role as a habitat had to be developed while considering stakeholders and socio-economic issues. Provisions to protect the surrounding habitat and to minimize the ecological impacts of the harvest were developed by applying area-based management at a high spatial resolution. These provisions included regulating harvesting gear, establishing a conservative exploitation rate, and creating special management areas to protect waterfowl and closed areas as long-term reference areas. This program represents a rare case in marine fisheries where all the regulations were in place before the harvest started. The success and challenges of this management program 27 years after its initiation is presented here.